It's Time to Stop Putting Hardwood Floors in Every Room

I almost entirely blame real estate shows for the modern malady that I'd like to call "Decor Generic-itis." It's marked by a distinct anxiety of making a mistake in one's home decor scheme that leads to an almost paralyzing fear when it comes to any decor decision. As a result, you default to the trinity that nearly every prospective home buyer or makeover recipient lists on that show as must-haves: granite, stainless steel, and hardwood floors.

It's not that these features are bad or tacky. They are not. But these features aren't always what suit your life, personality, or your property's overall design. When arbitrarily added to a home, they can take away character, creating an odd cookie-cutter look (thus the "generic" part of "Decor Generic-itis"). As a result, all interiors (regardless of the age of a home) can have an odd, similar look. It's especially noticeable when someone gets the idea to renovate their home to add hardwood floors.

I'm not talking about the beautiful original hardwood floors that some lucky people uncover while renovating, or the floors that came with your home. I'm talking about the people who, high on watching marathons of house flipping shows, decides to replace their current flooring with whatever hardwood they can find on a whim. There are a few reasons why this decision should be rethought at best, and nixed at worst:

Hardwood floors are NOT a cure-all for property value.

Look, I'm not saying that they'll make your home worth less. But it's not going to be the detail that suddenly takes your house up in value to the next hundred-thousand bracket. You might recoup your costs, yes. Especially if you had bad '80s carpet beforehand. But it seems like hardwood floors are an expected feature, so they're not valued as much as they used to be.

Your home can echo like crazy.

Any and all sound practically bounces off of the pristine surface of hardwood floors, especially TV noise. This is only a good thing when you quickly run to the kitchen for a snack in the middle of a mystery miniseries without pausing.

Not to mention the click-click-click sound of little paws.

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The sound is still a problem if you go with tile, but not if you have carpeting. But the bigger issue is scratches: Nothing like the threat of a ruined floor to get you up-to-date on your pet's nail trimming needs.

It's better to have a high-quality floor covering than a low-quality wood.

No one's budget is infinite, after all. Skimping on material can lead to durability concerns (or even toxicity), not to mention that you probably won't get the stain or finish you love. But you can often find higher-quality options in carpeting or tile for the same price.

You'll still need carpets to protect your floors.

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And big ones, too. One of the more distracting sights on Fixer Upper is that the rugs are always far too small for the space. It's one of those very noticeable details, especially in an open floor plan.

It's so high-maintenance.

You have to worry that you're using the wrong products, not waxing properly, you have to refinish it every few years, and you have to consider things like the moisture level in your home (too little and you'll get gaps, too much and it'll warp). Do you really want to have to get your floor its own humidifier for the winter? And even with all of this considered and followed to the letter, you'll have to re-sand and resurface every 10 years.

You'll become one of those "shoe people."

If you're used to taking off your shoes when you walk into your home, great. If not, you'll have to get into the habit. Why? It's not just a dirt issue, but a possible damage issue. Consider this little factoid from The National Wood Flooring Association: "A 125-pound woman walking in high heels with an exposed heel nail can exert up to 8,000 pounds per square inch." This also applies to those who wear heavy boots, along with kids who always seem to forget to take off their cleats after practice.

Squeaks and creaks.

Even a careful installation process can't always guarantee a squeak or creak-free result.

There are attractive "other" options now.

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It used to be that you'd have to go for high-end tile, low-end vinyl tile, and wall-to-wall that wasn't the height of chic (I believe all homes in the '70s and '80s were required to have that low-pile harvest gold carpeting). Now, things have changed. You can find tile that looks exactly like the limed-wood surface you had your eye on, for instance.

So unless you're lucky enough to have beautiful original wood floors, or a budget and timeline for putting a little extra care, keep your floors as-is. Or try something else. Anything else.

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